


Well That Makes Two of Us

by disasterboy, The_Best_Damn_Dress_I_Own



Series: Lemonade [10]
Category: Neck Deep (Band), State Champs (Band), WSTR (Band)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-19
Updated: 2019-09-21
Packaged: 2020-09-07 05:42:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,425
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20304391
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/disasterboy/pseuds/disasterboy, https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Best_Damn_Dress_I_Own/pseuds/The_Best_Damn_Dress_I_Own
Summary: Winter break has passed and Monster High is welcoming a ton of new transfer students(Each chapter will be a quick introduction and/or backstory for one new character)





	1. Sammy

**Author's Note:**

> We’re reviving LemonadeVerse! If you’ve read the rest of the stories, welcome back, and if you’re new to this AU, I recommend starting from the beginning

In the dead chill of early January, a small van departed from Wrexham, Wales under the cover of nightfall. Its passengers, seven teenage boys, spent the relatively-brief drive to Liverpool in a nervous, sleepy silence. They all seemed to perk up, however when the control tower of John Lennon Airport appeared in the distance ahead of them. 

Sammy Clifford turned to his left to face the one boy in the van that he didn’t know. The curly-haired stranger, who’d already been in the van when it arrived in Wrexham, smiled pleasantly at him.

“What’s your name, then?” Sammy asked him conversationally.

“Tom,” the stranger replied, his accent suggesting that he was from out further west than the rest of them. “But you should call me Boots.”

Boots was...pretty. Not the in-your-face kind of pretty, but they kind that made Sammy never want to stop looking at him. His hazel eyes were impossibly bright and even just his small, cordial smile had Sammy smiling unintentionally.

Reining in his staring before he could make it awkward, Sammy pointed to himself and the others in the van one by one. “I’m Sammy, this is Alex, Ben, Dani, West, and Sam...er, other Sam.”

“Why’re you called Boots?” Alex questioned, leaning his long torso over from the row behind them. One of his broad, leathery wings smacked Ben in the face.

Boots shrugged. “Not important, but everyone calls me it.”

Sammy could deal with that answer, he supposed. He’d probably let Boots do whatever he wanted forever.

“What’s it like?” Boots wondered. “At Monster High School, I mean. I’m a transfer student, so. I’ve never been before.”

“No idea,” West replied from the other side of Sammy. “We’ve never been, either.”

“Yeah, we’re transfers, too, the rest of us,” Alex added.

“Oh that’s good, then.” Boots relaxed visibly, smiling bigger and properly this time. It was brilliant. “We all get to experience it together.” 

The notion made Sammy’s chest feel warm.

“What kind of monster are you?” Alex wanted to know then, ever the picture of subtlety.

“A selkie,” replied Boots, thankfully unbothered. “My family lives in Tywyn so we can be close to the water...Is er, is New Jersey close to the ocean, do you know?”

“I hope so,” Ben told him. He gestured to Sam, West, and Dani. “Us four are mermen, so we’ll be losing our minds right there with you if there’s no water.”

“We’ll figure something out,” Boots told them. He looked back to Sammy. “What about you?”

“I’m a vampire, and Alex is half-dragon,” Sammy explained, dodging a small puff of fire that Alex had blown for emphasis.

“Wicked,” Boots breathed in appreciation, making Sammy blush. “I’ve never met any non-ocean monsters before.”

“Well, I reckon we’re all about to meet loads more,” Sam chimed in from the furthest-back row.


	2. Derek

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> cody's BACK, baby :)

Thanksgiving was supposed to be a time of family and togetherness. Every year for as long as he could remember, Derek's parents had made the long drive to the coast of New York to visit his maternal grandparents, and they spent a long weekend enjoying the company of family. 

This year, however, his grandmother had seemed intent on breaking up that feeling of "togetherness". 

"Derek!" yelled his grandmother. Within seconds of opening the front door, she had already gathered him into her arms, and his mom chuckled behind him as he hugged her back. 

"Mom, let him breathe. You're blocking the doorway." At his mom's words, Derek's grandmother let go of him and let them actually walk into the house. Not a single thing had changed since Derek was here for Easter. It sucked that he had to wait for holidays to see his grandma. He missed her a lot, and even though she often suggested that they move closer Derek's mom politely declined every time before changing the subject.

Speaking of that particular subject... "God knows why your mother chose to move so far away."

Derek sighed. _Here we go again_.

"Mom-" his mother began, but his grandmother cut her off before she could get out a full sentence.

"You'd think that being born as a seal would find her a little more favorable to living near the ocean. But _nooo_, she just _had_ to move so far away to keep you safe."

Wait. Back up.

"What?"

"MOM!" Derek's grandmother ignored her daughter in order to calmly turn to face Derek, confusion written on her face.

"What do you mean, "what"?"

"You said she was born as a seal. What do you mean by that?"

"Well, she was born the same way all selkies were, just like me and you."

"Me? I wasn't born as a seal. And what's a selkie?"

"_Mom_." Uh oh. Derek's mom sounded pissed. "I'd appreciate it if you stopped talking."

Derek had never been more confused in his entire life. He looked between his mother and grandmother, who both looked equally angry at each other. There was a tense moment between the three of them filled with silence and anger, but Derek's grandmother only escalated it by speaking first.

"You haven't told him?"

"No, I haven't, and I don't want to discuss this right now."

"If we don't discuss it now, he'll never know."

"Know what?" Derek pleaded. "Mom, what's she talking about?"

"Derek, honey, can you go to another room for a second? Your grandmother and I need to talk about something in private." 

Derek started to obey, but his grandmother caught him by the arm and stopped him from leaving.

"You don't need to go anywhere, sweetheart. You have a right to know who you are."

"Who I am?" Now Derek was just plain confused. It sounded like his mom was trying to keep something from him, but what his grandma was saying didn't make any sense either. Being born as a seal? That sounded insane, and it couldn't possibly be true. 

His grandmother moved to sit on the couch and patted the cushion next to her as a gesture for him to join her. Derek shot a worried and confused look at his mother, who sighed but didn't stop him from moving to sit next to his grandmother.

"I don't know why your mother has neglected to tell you this for _fourteen years_, but it's time you learned about our family history." Family history? He already knew all of that. They had immigrated from Italy a few generations ago, they've lived in New York for years, yadda yadda yadda. Why are they treating this like some sort of big secret?

Before she began talking again, his grandmother reached under the glass coffee table and pulled out a large photo book that Derek had never seen before. She opened it and flipped to a specific page before pulling out a photograph. She handed it to Derek and he was greeted with... a picture of his mom holding a ball of white fluff.

"What's that?"

"That's you." 

"What? Grandma, there's no way that's me." 

His grandma gently took the photo from him and flipped it around to show someone's loopy handwriting. "Derek Joseph DiScanio, 2 days old" was clearly written on the white background, and he blinked several times to make sure it wasn't an illusion.

"How is that thing me, though?"

"I told you, all selkies are born first as seals. Some of them remain seals, but all of them have the power to change between human form and seal form."

"I still don't know what a selkie is."

"I just explained it, Derek. A selkie is a mythical being that can shift between seal and human. Our entire family is made up of selkies, including you. When you were born, some monster hunters came after us, so your mother took you away from the ocean and, apparently, didn't tell you about your true self."

Derek let out a breath he hadn't known he was holding. One look up at his mother and her guilt-ridden face only added proof to his grandmother's words. He was confused and angry, but also relieved. He had known deep down that he was different from the other kids at his high school, but he hadn't known _what_ had made him different until now.

"I guess this explains why I've always liked the ocean...?"

"Yes! That's exactly why." His grandmother smiled at him, and he smiled back. As confusing as this all was, he had to admit that it was _awesome_ at the same time.

"We all turn into harp seals. There are some selkies that turn into hooded seals, but our family are harp seals. We're born as those little white fluffy things, but as we grow we molt and our coats turn grey."

"Cool," Derek whispered. "Can you tell me more?"

His grandmother smiled at him and nodded. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw his mom leave the room.

* * *

"Derek, I was just trying to protect you. I thought that if you didn't know, if you lived a normal life as a normal boy, that you would be safer," his mother explained later. They had left the house soon after Derek's grandmother had finished her speech, and Derek's stomach was protesting at the lack of food. They had spent the entire drive so far in silence, but apparently his mom had had enough. "I'm sorry you had to find out like that. I was going to tell you eventually, but-"

"I don't really want to talk right now, Mom." His mother seemed to respect that, and he sighed. His head was resting against the cold glass of the window, staring out as the land rushed past their car. Far out in the distance, he could see the ocean, and even this far away he felt the urge to run towards it. He wondered what being a seal would be like. He'd have to ask his mom or grandma to teach him how to change forms. Was there, like, a ritual involved, or was it something they could do naturally? He still had so many questions, but asking his mom was kind of out of the question until he stopped being angry at her.

"You're taking the news surprisingly well. Normally, most teenage boys would have been starting the five stages of grief by now."

Derek didn't respond.

"There's, uh... there's a high school in New Jersey."

"There are lots of high schools in New Jersey, Mom," Derek snapped. Normally that would have gotten him in trouble, but now his mom just laughed nervously.

"Yeah, that's true. This one's just for monsters, though."

"Monsters?" This caught Derek's attention, and he turned to face his mom even though she was driving and couldn't take her eyes off the road.

"I looked, and they accept selkies there. It's a totally diverse school, and it would be a good way to get you caught up on all the stuff you missed. Plus, I know you're not really happy in your current school. It's the middle of the semester, but if you want to transfer in then we could do that."

"I... I'd really like that." His mom nodded.

"It's called Monster High. Kind of a dead giveaway, I guess, but it works. We'll start on the transfer papers as soon as we get home."

"Cool. Can we get McDonald's on the way?"

"You just read my mind, D."


	3. Dani

Dani's life was perfect, to say the least. He had wonderful friends, school was great, and he was close enough to the ocean that one of their parents could drive them there after classes let out on Friday. He often woke up wishing that nothing would ever change, but that's not always how life works.

It was Friday again, and his mother had had to drive him to the ocean that day since he had stayed after school to talk to a teacher. She dropped him off close to the shore, kissing him on the forehead as he unbuckled his seatbelt.

"I'll be back later to pick you four up."

"Thanks, Mum!" He waved to her until her car was out of sight, and then he was off. As he got closer to the ocean, feet never straying from the worn path, he began to hear the loud yelling of his three friends.

”Yeah, but _my_ tail is blue. Blue’s a way cooler color than red,” West argued just as Dani crossed the hill and the three of them came into sight. They were already shifted and in the shallows of the sea, but they didn’t notice Dani as he stripped off his shirt and shoes and put them next to the others’.

"Who are you to judge which color is cooler? It’s a matter of opinion,” Ben responded. West’s counter-argument consisted of splashing him in the face with seawater, and soon Sam and West were launching a full-scale splash attack against their red-tailed friend.

"Guys, cut it out!”

"Hey, don’t forget me!” Dani yelled. The others stopped their splashing long enough to yell at him to hurry up, so Dani started running and dove into the ocean. Almost as soon as he hit the water his skin seemed to light up in flames, though when he looked down he was surrounded by air bubbles instead of fire. Soon enough his legs had been turned into a tail, and gills had sprouted on the sides of his neck. He swam deeper into the ocean until he reached his friends. West showed him a grin full of sharp teeth, and after Dani returned it with one of his own they continued assaulting poor Ben with ocean water.

Dani met them five years ago, when his parents had moved him to their tiny town, and after five years living by their sides he didn't think he would ever be able to live without them. They were his best friends, and they went through everything together.

"Hey, guys. Who wants to race me?" Sam asked. His jet-black tail flickered with excitement just below the surface, and his fin-like ears were twitching. That was never a good sign.

"To where?"

"To that rock over there." Dani followed Sam's scaley arm to find which rock he was pointing at.

"Oh, you're on," Ben said. He must be planning on getting revenge for the splashing. 

Sam laughed. "You sure your pretty tail will be able to keep up?"

"Not only will it be able to keep up, it'll also beat your sorry ass to the rock," Ben boasted. Ben's tail truly was a thing of beauty, composed of blood-red scales and frilly and decorative fins. Whereas Ben's tail seemed to have been built for display, however, Sam's was built for intimidation and speed. His scales were a black so deep they seemed blue. His fins were all sharp and streamlined, and his dorsal fin seemed to be more spikes than actual fin. Ben looked like something out of a fisherman's tale, whereas Sam seemed to embody the monstrous tales of merfolk more than anything else.

"Who do you think will win?" West asked. He had moved to float next to Dani, and his cerulean tail flicked out to brush against Dani's light pink one.

"We all know Ben's gonna win. He always does, because Sam gets cocky. Typical tortoise-and-hare situation."

"Five pounds says Sam'll beat him this time around," West said as their two friends swam out to find a starting point for the race.

"I'll take that action."

* * *

Two weeks later, Sam didn't show up to their usual weekly ocean excursion after school. The other three stayed close to the shore to wait for him, but he never came. 

"Do you think he's been grounded?" West asked. Ben shrugged.

"Should we go to his house to check on him? Something might be wrong," Dani said. Nobody verbally agreed, but all three of them began swimming towards the land anyway. Ben called his father to pick them up, and soon they were making their way towards Sam's house, clothes and hair still slightly damp. Sam's mother answered the door, and when she saw who it was she sighed.

"He's in his room. Go on up. Hopefully seeing you lot will help cheer him up." The three of them trudged up the stairs and made their way to Sam's room. None of them needed to ask where it was because they all had the route ingrained into their brains after years and years of coming to visit. A muffled "come in" sounded when Dani knocked on the door. Once everyone was inside they looked around for Sam, but what they found was a pile of blankets on top of the bed. 

"Sam? You okay, mate?"

"No."

Dani sighed, sitting down on the end of Sam's bed. Ben claimed Sam's chair at his desk and West sat on the floor by the bed. 

"What's wrong?"

"Someone saw us." Sam lifted his head out of the blankets, but only enough for Dani to see that his eyes were red and his cheeks were blotchy.

"What?"

"When we were racing the other day. Someone was out on a boat and saw us swimming. He followed me home, and Mum said she took care of it but she's still making me transfer schools."

"Wait, so does that mean..."

"I'm leaving as soon as the transfer papers go through." 

"Where are you going?" asked Ben.

"Some place in the States called Monster High. It's an all-monster school. Mum's fuckin' stoked about it. They even provide "safe and discreet transportation," whatever that means. The website said they'd send someone to pick me up and take me there, so Mum said I had better start packing soon."

Oh. Sam was leaving. Dani's eyes dropped to the floor as the real meaning of Sam's words sunk in. He wouldn't be there anymore. He wouldn't throw any more spitballs in class, he wouldn't pester them for races in the water, he wouldn't-

"Well, guess this means there's only one thing to do," Ben piped up, interrupting Dani's rather depressing train of thought.

"What's that?" West asked.

"We're all gonna have to go to Monster High."

"Ben, don't be ridiculous. We can't-" Dani started to protest, but then his argument died in his throat. Why _couldn't_ they? There was literally no reason stopping them from going with Sam.

"Ben, mate, that's the best idea you've had in years," West said. Ben looked rather hurt at the backhanded compliment, and Dani would have laughed at his face if it had been any other situation. 

"You guys would really do that?"

"'Course we would. We're not just gonna let you ditch us just like that," Ben answered. Sam's smile widening was enough to put Dani back in a good mood, and when Sam scrambled out of bed to go ask his mother for the school's web address Dani's smile nearly matched those of his friends.

* * *

The van seemed like a mirage to Dani when it first appeared on the single-lane road leading out of their town. As it trundled along towards their small group, he looked around to see the tired yet excited faces of his friends surrounding him, and any nervousness that remained in his stomach quietly died and disappeared.

Sammy was the first one to approach the van when it stopped in front of them. The sun was coming up fast, and he probably wanted to get out of the open before his poor vampire skin got burned. To everyone's surprise, there was already another boy in the van, sitting next to the window on the opposite side. He looked half-dead, but when the door opened his head perked up and he turned to stare at the six other boys. Dani couldn't exactly place what kind of monster he was, but as everyone loaded into the car he caught the familiar scent of seawater on the new kid. _Another aquatic monster. Awesome_.

As soon as the last person was safely buckled in, the driver started off again, leading the boys towards the border and towards the airport where they would catch the plane that would take them to their new school in New Jersey (wherever the fuck that was). Until then, though, Dani was stuck in a car with five of his friends, a complete stranger, and an atmosphere that was steadily growing increasingly more awkward as the stranger fidgeted with their jacket sleeve.

Thankfully, Sammy seemed intent on breaking that awkwardness. He exchanged smiles with the curly-haired boy before speaking up.

"What's your name, then?"


End file.
